Saturday is close to Wednesday, right? Well, anyway, it's been that kind of week. Lots of exciting announcements for not only Star Wars, but also Dungeons and Dragons, both of which I have a great interest in for obvious reasons. I doubt anyone seeing this by now hasn't already seen some of the announcements, but I'll throw a few thoughts in there as well.
Last week ended with GenCon event registration. Fantasy Flight Games is sponsoring RPG games (as well as minis tournaments, etc.) again this year. Unfortunately, the RPG events sold out quickly. However, those who missed out can watch the event pages and/or try to resubmit it via wishlist because if there is a cancellation, a slot can open up at any time. I imagine showing up at the event with generic tickets could be possible - assuming that a pre-registered player has skipped the event, thereby opening a slot. It is usually a very small number, though.
The week began with the announcement of the release dates and products for the new edition of Dungeons and Dragons. My involvement has been on the playtesting side of things for....quite a while now. Back when Edge of the Empire was in development, my early D&D playtesting started around the same time. It was fun, though a bit strange to be working on two of my favorite game lines in pre-release form at the same time. I've really enjoyed the new D&D edition and hope to contribute in the future. I'm loving the new art and look of the game products so far. For those who are interested:
- Official D&D products / Tyranny of Dragons page
- ENWorld 5th edition compiled news page - this gets updated regularly from all kinds of sources.
- D&D organized play announcements - Adventurer's League, Epics, Encounters, and Expeditions.
Then came the first pictures from the Abu Dhabi Star Wars Episode VII set. This was the first across my twitter feed:
#StarWarsEpisodeVII pic.twitter.com/HeRjzALC9c
— Daisy Ridley News (@DaisyRidleyNews) May 21, 2014
I'll admit, I was pretty excited to see it. Some of the actors are tweeting related pictures (about the process or location). It came from JJ Abrams announcement of the Star Wars Force for Change initiative, including a contest to win an appearance in Episode VII. Reading the rules, I'm fairly certain that as a freelancer for a licensee, I'm not eligible. It's a bummer, but not the first time it has happened. The video featured the set and a new character:
They have said they will use more practical effects than the prequels did, and this character is an example of that. I think that's a good thing. The CGI of the prequels was fine, but the nuances from a set or on location really add to a scene. Plus it it's a lot more fun to see the behind the scenes shots with something there other than a green screen.
Following on from that, the director and writer for the first stand alone (non-Episode) Star Wars movie was announced: Gareth Edwards (director, Godzilla) and Gary Whitta (writer, Book of Eli). PC gamers might remember Gary Whitta as the editor of PC Gamer magazine for a long time. I first heard him on his appearances of on the PC Gamer podcast, a regular on the Tested podcast, and his own Game Theory podcast from a few years ago. Should be interesting.
Somewhere in all of this, writer Brent Friedman tweeted some unaired episodes and interesting things that could have been for The Clone Wars.
And finally, bringing it back to Fantasy Flight Games, they announced that the massive Tantive IV is out for X-wing Miniatures. My Friendly Local Game Store sold out their first shipment, but fortunately had others come in very quickly thereafter. Game on.